Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

• • ..t(J,ellllllf}lllt/4~ ~ I f e', ../ Geoff McCarthy crosses the finish line near San Felipe after winning the La Carrera Classic II road race in Baja California, Mexico. The Highway One Special leaves the start in Ensenada; a-speed test on a highway that runs from the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Cortez. A wide range of motorcycles competed in the La Carrera Classic; from brand new Kawasaki EX500s to a 1938 BSA Gold Star. , Former Grand National Champion Gary Nixon (left) didn't have a motorcycle to race, so he became the only entry in the rent-a-car race. La Carrera Classic II McCarthy grabs La Carrera win By Chuck Clayton SAN FELIPE, B.C, MEXICO, APR. II Where in the world can a socially responsible person take his machine to "see how fast she'll go" on a real road? The answer' is La Carrera (The Race). About an hour's drive from the USA, the road I for the day in order to stage is Mexico Highway 3, closed a run-what-you-brung speed- fest from the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Cortez. When this year's speedfest had ended it was Ojai, California's Geoff McCarthy taking the overall win with an average speed of 108.75 mph. McCarthy narrowly beat ex-desert racer Duane Summers on a similar 750cc Ducati twin. I had invented a new trike roadster called "The Highway One Special" that I needed to test at speed. Who else but the organizers of La Carrera would let such a unique, unproven vehicle race without any hassle? The only prohibition against motorcycles at La Carrera is "no fourcylinders" (they have their reasons). So I sent off my $200 entry fee and got back a picture postcard from Loyal Truesdale, the gringo organizer, that said, "You are in." Over 100 vintage sport cars and 69 motorcycle entries showed up in Ensenada for the start - everything from a Harley dresser to a turbocharged BMW sidecar. Ours was the only trike, so they put us in the sidecar class, making a total of eight three-wheelers. . La Carrera is a timed rally-style road race. Riders and drivers start at one-minute intervals and race as fast as they can on a smooth paved twolaner that twists over the coastal mountains like a black snake, then levels out straight to the horizon. Here is where engines blow-up from the unremitting strain that they were never designed for. McCarthy held it on and together to win the overall on his Cagiva North America-sponsored Ducati (McCarthy also receives help from Rennsport, who prepped the bike and fitted it with Lectron carburetors). It was the 19-year-old's first finish in four tries at La Carrera. A few suffered the other kind of racing luck: The Harley dresser (Enola Gay III) expired only one mile from the start. The turbo sidecar made it only a couple of miles further before it was out of combat. Nick lenatch's 9O-inch Harley ran out of gas and finished way down in the standings; lenatch said he caught and passed the leading rwo Ducatis of McCarthy and second place finisher Duane Summers before the big Harley began its fuel starvation problem. After pushing four miles, lenatch found two Mexican boys whom he paid $10 to help push the bike; the tired trio found a flagman who gave them gas from his Mustang. Ienateh said he will return in September. The desert-racer-turned-road-racer Summers finished second to McCarthy as the two raced back and forth for the majori ty of the race. Jim Roche drove in from Florida to place third on his lOOOcc BMW twin. Roche was pleased, to state it mildly, by his first La Carrera experience. He had smoked his clutch pre-running the day prior to the race, and replaced it and the main seal in an all-night wrenching session. It was worth it, however, and Roche was seen leaving San Felipe with "3rd Overall" spray painted on the side of his picku'p. He too vowed to return with his family in September. Kawasaki wisely chose the La (Continued to page 21)

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